NUFFNANG

Tuesday, 21 April 2015

I’ve recently participated in a dialogue session between DAP leaders and Malaysian students here in Egypt, during a dialogue session organized by DAP Malaysia. I met with YB Lim Kit Siang, the delegation leader; YB Teresa Kok; YB Zairil Khir Johari and YB Steven Sim.When the question and answer session began and my turn I politely began my question by introducing myself to the YBs and all. I am from Seremban where the DAP was founded by YB Lim Kit Siang, Che Man Hin, who is the lifetimeadvisor of DAP; Devan Nair, the President of Singapore at that time and a few others.My mother is from Pulau Pinang which is the state that is now under DAP ruling and my paternal grandmother is originally from Singapore where the PAP is the ruling party now. I told the DAP politicians in front of me that all of those combined circumstances have played a role in helping me to know DAP in depth and it helped me hone my studies on them; aside from any issues I may have with DAP myself.Then I began posing a few questions to them.I told them that we are all aware how DAP is the remnant of PAP in Singapore which was founded in 1966 after Singapore was expelled from Malaysia in 1965. On that night, I asked the YBs what they would say if I said that DAP now is no different than the PAP back in 1963 when Lee Kuan Yew campaigned and promised to keep the rights of Malays, as the indigenous inhabitants of the land in Singapore, and also promised the position of Islam there if he was elected.But now, what happened to the Malay Singaporeans and how the current government is doing nothing but refusing to recognize the position of Islam there?Our Muslim sisters in Singapore are banned from wearing hijab in the government schools as part of their uniforms, they have to wear dresses and skirts that are against their beliefs, Muslim women have been warned of the government posts which do not allow them to wear hijab. Mosques are built on the pay-cuts of the Muslim themselves. At the same time, many Malay men are also banned from key positions in the Singaporean army especially the SAF, Singapore Air Force.YB Steven answered by telling me that DAP of today has no relationship of any kind with PAP.He said that PAP is still using Internal Security Act (ISA) but DAP is against ISA in Malaysia. YB Lim also responded that he has been accused of being a CIA agent and Australian intelligent by media but never been accused of being a Singaporean agent so why should this issue between he and Singapore even brought up? Why not CIA or Australia?Honestly I was disappointed by the answer that they gave. I started to question their professionalism in creating ‘discourse’. But what did I expect from DAP politicians?My second question was in regard to DAP continuously calling for unity, harmony and prosperity among multiracial Malaysians when they, at the same time, refuse to abolish vernacular schools and promote the use of Bahasa Melayu in these schools as it is the national language. It is harsh truth when I say that the current language barrier that exists among Malaysian citizen is a disaster and has divided the nation very much.This is the status quo in this country where many people live and mingle only within their language circle. DAP knows very well that it is difficult enough to manage a multiracial country that uses a single language. It is hard to achieve unity as it is and we have seen many civil wars happening in countries that have no language barriers like what has happened both in Arab countries and in the West.Yet this becomes more confusing when Dong Zong rejects an Education Blueprint to increase the teaching time for Bahasa Melayu in vernacular schools. Apart from Dong Zong, there were also 700 Chinese associations and 1800 representatives from various Chinese groups who refuse to unite the country under one language.DAP in their party policy clearly echoes the same call for “full recognition of the right to mother tongue education”. So I asked them what exactly are the practical steps they have for uniting and strengthening the citizens of Malaysia with regards to solving the language barrier?This question was first answered by YB Steven Sim. He said, “different languages supposedly cannot divide us if we trust in ourselves.” He continued, “how is it that Arab countries are not united with only one official language and we are going to that way?” YB Zairil Khir came next arguing that the latest studies show vernacular schools are now receiving students from diverse races up to 30%, while Sekolah Kebangsaan drops its race diversity among the students to 3%.He also diverted the attention from the vernacular issue to the problem with Bahasa Melayu. He asked how we could go to Bahasa when the government does not really care about the language. He mentioned that the Law Course in UiTM which claims to be for Malays and Bumiputera is delivered using English language and so does its syllabus. He later said DAP has no problem with Bahasa Melayu and the party members interact using Bahasa Melayu.Did he not know we heard which language he used when they whispered to each other at the front? And what I regret not mentioning in front of their faces on that night is that YB Teresa Kok was one fine example of how many Chinese Malaysians are still having trouble with their national language.Register NowI am personally offended by their answers at this point.Thirdly, I told them that I wanted to know their thoughts are on something that’s really fundamental for the country. I went on saying that promises and sweet-talking isn’t really something hard to do. Any party can shower people with their nice manifestoes and promises, and the same goes to PKR, PAS and UMNO.But what actually worries and concerns me is DAP’s policy which fights for “equal rights for all Malaysians, regardless of gender, race and religion” instead of respect based on racial equity that has been part of the social contract.As a muslim, YB Zairil should know this very well, too. Islam teaches its believers that only Islam is the true religion aswritten in the Quran. Allahu taala says “today I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as the religion”.In Islamic jurisprudence, there is no way a non-muslim can be the ruler of a muslim country, and this has been stated in our Islamic Law books since over a thousand years ago. This is also aligns with what is written in our FederalConstitution. The concept of “equal rights” can only be accepted so long as it does not transgress the Islamicaljurisprudence ambit.I told them that from the viewpoint of history, Islam has been the religion of the people of this land and the religion of the land itself for many years and that justifies why it deserves a higher place in Malaysia without neglecting therecognition of the practice of other religions as what has been written in the constitution. The Muslims have died fighting for this land for hundreds of years ago. Even before other races came into the picture, tens of thousands ofMuslims like our forefathers have died defending this country. That is the price that they paid to ensure that Islamcontinues to be the religion of this country.These stories have been enshrined in history books for decades. So as long as the concept of “equal rights.. regardless”recognize the bloodshed and sacrifices of our forefathers through provision of rights in the constitution, then we arehappy to live in harmony and unity.What say you, YBs? Well to be honest, they didn’t really answer this one.Of course one would not expect more from politicians but mere twists of the tongue. Being surrounded by Malays, they did not dare to directly address my concerns on that matter. Only that I wished the three other YBs could speak better Bahasa Melayu as YB Zairil did.Unfortunately they did not reflect that essential part of being Malaysian and it doesn’t seem like they’re actually trying to do so. My understanding of them prior to the meeting did not change one bit after the discourse. Like true DAP politicians, they kept running away from the topic at hand and jumped on the issues that favour their own to stress on painting a pretty picture on themselves.They avoided addressing these pressing concerns and continued to harp on the weaknesses of the current ruling government, then proceeds to sugar-coat the discussion with the achievements and great things that they had done in the states they are ruling. Their political rhetoric on unity and harmony were of course repeated again and again.Like any other party, they repeated their calls for good governance and creating a developed and competent Malaysia; ofcourse, nobody is against that. But on the other side, they are also calling against the concept of equity and fairness of religion and race in the constitution. Islam and Malays will be left unbacked by the Constitution if it is up for DAP.From the way the conversation went, we could understand that things will be just like what had happened in Singapore, if not worse.We should know that DAP is now at a desperate position to gather the support of Malays in order to progress further in Malaysian politics without the need for them to cling on to PAS. The wobbled and unpredictable PAS might not be able to serve their interests well in the long run.The Malays who are deceived by a baju kurung-wearing Teresa Kok in Alexandria are only repeating the same mistake that the Singaporean Malays did when they fell into asongkok-wearing Lee Kuan Yew. I can’t remember the last time he wore songkok after that picture at Kampung Melayu was taken. Malays should learn some lesson from the past and not become deceived by them only because they are capable to quote some verses from the Quran, or wear baju kurung or baju Melayu.Lee Kuan Yew in the past only invested on a songkok hitam on his head to win the Malay Singaporean hearts. Malays are generally known to be kind-hearted in nature. So let us not let that blind us from seeing their wittiness and camouflage.Muslims and Malays have to wake up from the being material driven. The secured-position of Islam in this country,Malaysia, is far more in need of protection than to aim for a convenient life when you are given the choice. Sure, we all want good governance but that does not mean we have to sacrifice Islam along the way.Our priorities lie in protecting the aqidah and faith of our children and the nation more than the pursuit of our desires for wealth and a worry-free life.Heaven is made for those who strive and are steadfast, not those who seek to live in worldly comfort, surrounded bymaterial desires. Make your choice.Hasan Abdul HalimISMA activistDisclaimer: Views expressed by writers in the opinion section are their own and do not reflect ISMA or Media Isma Sdn Bhd point-of-view.

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